Harry Potter and the Quest for Mortality
by muglaw
Summary: This is my version of the last book and is unashamedly Harry/Ginny.
1. Chapter 1: The Long Ride Back

Chapter 1 – The Long Ride Back

Chapter 1 – The Long Ride Back

The sun was beginning to set when the Hogwarts Express pulled into Kings Cross station. As far as some of the younger students who were disembarking were concerned it could well be for the last time that they ever rode this train. The headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, possibly the most beloved of all Hogwarts heads had been murdered by one of his own colleagues, and the school may never open again. Of course many of the students hoped that the school would stay open as they still felt; despite the recent breach of school security by a band of death eaters aided and abetted by one of their fellow students that the school was still the safest place to be in the wizarding community at the present time. Of course some of them would have a great deal of difficulty in convincing their parents that this was the correct thing to do. Those that remembered would recall the words Dumbledore had said two years ago about choosing between what was right and what was easy and returning to school was definitely the right thing to do and certainly would not be easy in these dark times.

As the students who had stayed at school to attend Dumbledore's funeral the previous day began to disembark from the train and slowly make their way into muggle London from platform 9 ¾, four nervous teenagers were waiting in a compartment towards the back of the train waiting for the platform to clear sufficiently and for the rest of the guard to appear. For Harry Potter this trip home from Hogwarts had been the worst in the six years he had been attending Hogwarts.

As soon as the formalities of Dumbledore's funeral were over and Harry had managed to evade the Minister from further pressing him for information about where Harry and Dumbledore had been on the night Dumbledore was killed, Harry, Ron and Hermione returned to the castle in order to make sure that all of their belongings were packed and nothing had been overlooked in their rush to pack earlier in the morning before the funeral. They knew they would most likely never be returning and didn't want to leave anything behind.

Harry was very grateful that Ron and Hermione were going to stand by him through his mission even though, for Hermione especially it would mean giving up on some of her dreams. Harry also felt like he was losing out on something by not returning, the slight possibility of following his father and being head boy, NEWT exams so he could become an Auror and just generally enjoying his final year of school but he held to his resolve. He had a mission to finish and he would finish it not for himself but for his headmaster and mentor. They had had their disagreements, some of them quite major, but the relationship between them was still strong.

Harry, Ron and Hermione made their way back to Gryffindor tower to relax before lunch and the trip back to London. The trio had only been sitting in their favourite chairs around the fire for about 10 minutes when the portrait hole opened and in walked Ginny. Neither one met the gaze of the other for fear of breaking down over the events which transpired after the funeral. Instead Ginny took off towards the staircase leading to the girl's dormitory.

"What was that all about Harry" Hermione quietly asked as Ginny took off. "Why did Ginny take off like that and not come over here and why did neither of you look at each other?"

Suddenly it was as if Professor McGonagall's voice had been amplified all over the school. "Attention please all staff, students and others: the Hogwarts Express will not be leaving today after a band of Death Eaters and Dementors attempted to waylay it on its way here to take you home. The express will now depart tomorrow in order to ensure student safety. All students are advised to remain in their common rooms. Meals will be brought to you in your common rooms. Sorry for the delay and inconvenience."

"Guess we have one last night here after all hey guys."

"Ever the optimist aren't you Ron" replied Harry sarcastically. "I think I'll just go up to our dorm and lay down I feel exhausted."

As Harry climbed the stairs to the dormitory that had become his home for the last six years his mind filled with thoughts of Ginny. He knew that he had had to break up with her ever since the death of the headmaster, but that did not mean that he wasn't hurting from the pain that the decision caused him. How could he not be hurting? He knew now that he was in love with Ginny, perhaps even soul mates. He was sure that if he had Ginny at his side then nothing too terrible could go wrong. Harry stopped himself from following this train of thought. The reason he broke up with Ginny was to keep her safe, for something for him to fight for, to survive and something to come back to at the end of the battle. Maybe he should have given Ginny a chance to speak when he had told her but it was just too painful. Harry also made sure that he had retrieved his potions book. Even though it had ended up belonging to that traitorous, murdering, former teacher whose name absolutely made his blood boil, it had still been interesting and might prove helpful, after all even though he had never agreed with the man he had recognised him as a master in the craft of potion making. It was just his teaching method that he had never agreed with. Harry thought it would be extremely ironic if he could find something in the book that would bring about the downfall of that nemesis. When he reached the dorm he went over to his four poster and lay down drifting off into a fitful sleep filled with distorted memories of the tragedies he had witnessed in his short life.

Meanwhile in the girl's dormitories, Ginny was trying to console herself with logic. This however was not doing her any good as Harry's decision just did not make any sense. He wants to protect me, _but I can protect myself._ He just cares about me, _then why did he hurt me so much by breaking up with me_. Then why did he break up with me? I'm, sure that he loves me just by the look in his eyes and the way that he kisses me. Suddenly things began to click for Ginny. The battle at the Department of Mysteries, the prophecy, the Daily Prophet naming him the Chosen One, his mysterious lessons with Dumbledore and that mission the night of the attack on the school. _Oh Merlin he isn't returning to school and plans to go off on his own. Wait no not on his own if I know my brother and best friend they won't let him go on his own. They know what his mission is and they are going with him._ She rushed into the next dorm in the hopes of finding Hermione who could confirm some of her theories. However this was prevented by the message from Professor McGonagall and the fact that she couldn't seem to find either Hermione or her brother when she went looking for them.

For the rest of the day Harry and Ginny preferred to keep to themselves trying to heal themselves of the hurt of both the break-up and Dumbledore's death. Ron and Hermione were also conspicuous by their absence. They decided to leave Harry and Ginny be for the time being to let the sort out whatever issues were upsetting them. This only happened of course once Hermione talked some sense into Ron to give them space.

All too soon for the four teenagers it was time to say goodbye to the castle and head towards Hogsmeade station to catch the train home. Slowly everyone made their way to the entrance hall with their belongings to take the thestral drawn carriages to Hogsmeade station. As Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny began to head out they were stopped by Professor McGonagall. "When the four of you arrive at the station you will need to ride the train home together. There will be a guard waiting and they will give you instructions for your safety for the ride home. This was the main reason for the delay in the Express leaving. After the attempt yesterday the Order thought it would be best to have a guard on hand in case of another attack".

As they arrived at Hogsmeade station they were gathered together by several order members including Tonks and Lupin.

"All right you four this is how the security arrangements are for this trip will work" started Lupin who seemed to have silently been elected the spokesperson. "We shall be travelling in the train with you to London and Tonks and I will be in the compartment with you while the others generally patrol. When we get to Kings Cross we shall all stay on the train until the rest of the students have gotten off the train and the rest of the guard are spotted on the platform. In addition, the Ministry decided to assign Aurors to fly along on broom with the express in case of an aerial attack after the attempt made yesterday."

Having a guard made Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny think at the start of the journey that it was going to be impossible to enjoy the ride home the way they usually would by playing exploding snap, gossiping, and just fooling around generally in the last glorious moments of being able to do magic for the summer. Harry was especially irked by this as he had no way of carrying on any further discussion of his plans as they would surely be shot down by the order members if they were to find out. Ginny was also irked by these arrangements because being this close to Harry was too hurtful on her broken heart after his break-up at the funeral but there was nothing that she could do about it.

The train left slowly giving people a final scenic view of Hogwarts and the highlands it was located in. Harry tried to fix the image in his mind of what it looked like thinking it would possibly be the very last time that he looked on the school and the beauty of the area. Hermione was affronted that she could not do prefect duties because of the security measures. That was until Remus assured her that there were the other prefects as well as the other Order members who had taken the train to give it extra security.

Part way through the journey though Harry got brave enough to ask Tonks and Remus whether it would be possible for the four of them to have a private conversation. This caused raised eyebrows especially from Remus. Harry simply said, "I know that you are protecting us, but there are things that I know and need to discuss with the other three that absolutely no-one else can know. This is just the way that it has to be Remus. It was the absolute last thing that I promised Dumbledore, I owe it to him to keep my promise, although Ginny was not included in my secrets there are other private things I have to discuss with her too and I think that Dumbledore would not mind her knowing. I'm not asking you to go far away just to stand outside the door you can even be looking into the compartment through the glass to make sure nothing happens one of us will just put a silencing charm on the door." This was eventually agreed to and the two made their way to just outside the door.

Hermione cast a silencing charm. First Harry wanted to clear things up with Ginny. He felt he owed her more of an explanation. "Ron please don't get into the protective older brother mode and punch my lights out before I finish explaining everything okay." Ron cautiously nodded his head. "I broke up with Ginny at the funeral. I can tell she is heartbroken because I am too."

At this Ginny looked very surprised. "I know that she can take care of herself quite well because I have seen her in battle often enough and because your family are considered blood traitors your whole family is a target. I just have to look at your mm's clock to know this. However my feelings for her would increase that risk. I can't afford this. Ginny will you please let me finish explaining properly what I didn't finish at the funeral."

Ginny slowly nodded her head. "Before he died Dumbledore told me lots of things about Tom Riddle. By the way I think we should all start calling him this rather than his other name. Not because we are scared of it but for tactical reasons. He can't abide this name, which is after all why he changed it. If we start using it then his chosen name loses its power and in a confrontation it will anger him and may lead to him making a mistake."

At this Ron looked very impressed. "Harry how did you come up with this your are, no offence mate, hopeless at chess, this is strategy and tactics." Harry continued "at the Battle at the ministry, this was what Dumbledore did and I was the only one that witnessed it apart from Bellatrix, it seemed to work so I think it would be useful. I looked up to Dumbledore and think it would be a good strategy to think how would Dumbledore handle a given situation. While he made mistakes and admitted this even to me I still think it is a good strategy for our mission. Now back to why I broke up with you Ginny. The three of us are not returning to Hogwarts next year, this mission is too important. The longer I delay the more attacks will be committed and more people will die each day. It would just make me feel too guilty to delay the mission to continue school. I can't tell you exactly what the mission entails because of my promise to Dumbledore. He made me promise to tell only Ron and Hermione."

At a look from Ginny Harry continued, "It's not that I don't trust you it's just that he must have had his reasons and I trust his judgement in most things. Apart from the fact that your mum will not let you come, it is going to be hard enough convincing her about Ron coming, but apart from the most evil wizard being after me, the ministry is extremely interested in finding out my mission. If you come with us then it might make it easier for them to find us and find out what we are doing."

After this Harry was silent long enough for Ginny to ask "are you done now Harry?" At a nod from Harry Ginny continued "I understand Harry how deeply you care about me I've seen it in your eyes and felt it in the way that you kiss me." Ginny glared at her brother are he glared at Harry menacingly "but don't you think that Tom already knows, or can at least find out, first Snape and Malfoy both knew do you think that one of them hasn't told him already, second how can you hide it, you know how skilled a legilimens he is and face it Harry how good exactly are your occlumency skills?" Harry looked crestfallen at this. "Harry you may go off without me I understand your reasons for doing that but let me be your true love like you want me to be and let me help you. I'll be at school and have access to the library I can research for you and I promise not to ask questions please Harry".

Harry considered what Ginny had said and mentally kicked himself from stopping her from replying at the funeral. Hermione was right he did tend to have a saving people complex and it was true she might be a big help to him. "Okay Ginny you are right I do love you and wanted to keep you safe to give me something to fight for. I feel that I need to know that I can come home to you to keep me going giving me a reason to survive the final battle. I don't know how we're going to work this out but yes I love you more than I love life itself."

Ron looked dumbfounded at what his mate had just admitted. Ginny just couldn't keep her glee inside of her any longer launching herself at Harry causing Tonks and Remus to come racing back into the compartment and stopping suddenly as Ginny captured Harry's mouth in a full, all out snog. Harry was fully aware of the joy he had just given Ginny as her lips sank onto his. As the kiss went on, Harry moved his head to deepen the kiss and Ginny nibbled at his lower lip her tongue seeking entrance. A battle of tongues ensued resulting in an exotic dance that only came to a stop when both felt a need to draw breath.

Once they had finished a voiced spoke out "what is it about Potter men and red-headed women?" At which everyone burst into laughter.

"I don't know Remus. But I don't ever want to let this one go again. Speaking of women, have you come to your senses yet?" With this comment both Tonks and Remus began to get a pink tinge to their faces that would rival that of any Weasley and the four teenagers burst into laughter. While observing this Harry decided to add "and as for you two, when are you going to stop dancing around each other. The rest of Gryffindor tower has been betting on when you two would get it together. Let me tell you there has been a lot of money already lost. I mean everyone knows that you only argue because of all the sexual tension that you refuse to act on." Now it was the turn of Ron and Hermione to turn pink while Harry, Ginny, Tonks and Remus burst out into laughter.

"I will have you know that if I did have feelings for Hermione that I would tell her in private thank you very much" pouted Ron.

"Oh is that where the two of you were yesterday when nobody could find you. I was looking for Hermione to talk about Harry breaking up with me and couldn't find her."

The rest of the journey continued in a relatively normal fashion after that with Tonks and Remus joining them in games of exploding snap until they slowed down arriving in London and waited for the others to leave and the rest of the guard to show up.

Finally they were allowed to leave the train and make their way back into the muggle world where both Ron's and Hermione's families were waiting for them. Harry found it a little strange that Ron's family had not just got the Hogwarts Express with the students as it seemed many families were travelling home together, but then with the attempted attack on the express yesterday maybe they were busy on other Order business. Harry's eyes swept Kings Cross station searching for signs of the Dursley's and was not disappointed that they had not showed up. Of course, the Dursley's knew nothing about the school closing early so why should he have expected them to show up. Harry thought that it made things a little easier that he wasn't going to have to have a screaming match here in the station about Ron and Hermione staying part of the summer in his house.

As soon as they reached their families Ron and Hermione went to explain their decisions, at least as far as going to Surrey with Harry were concerned while Harry hung back with Moody, Lupin and Tonks. Ron looked as though he was having a heated argument with his parents while Hermione seemed to be having no trouble convincing her parents. Suddenly Harry had to look away as Ginny gave him a very lustful look all too clearly saying how she would love it if she could go with him and what she would love to do away from the spying eyes of all her family except Ron. As Harry painfully tore his eyes away from his friends and their families he became aware of a conversation in which his name appeared to be cropping up quite a bit.

"…shouldn't be left alone!" Growled Moody to the others who nodded their heads in agreement.

Suddenly Harry interrupted them stating "I will not be alone Ron and Hermione are coming with me they told me after the funeral and are now arguing with their families in order to do so. Don't feel that you have to worry about me all the time. I can look after myself pretty well and so can Ron and Hermione before you say anything else. Besides I don't think anything good can come of any of you staying with me. It will just take someone away from being able to hunt down and deal with the Death Eaters, Dementors, Giants and other beings in Tom's army."

They just looked at Harry dumbfounded before Lupin asked Harry "and how were you planning on getting to Surrey when only Hermione can apparate. No Harry this will not do at least let us get you there and explain things to your aunt and uncle."

Harry considered finally hedging claiming that he couldn't and wouldn't make any decisions without consulting with his friends first.

"Finally the boy is showing some sense and not going off half-cocked all the time" expressed Moody. Harry was embarrassed by this compliment but realised he deserved it. He came to realise that the death of Dumbledore had been a turning point. He would not mope and be depressed as he had been in the past over Cedric's death and Voldemort's rebirth at the end of fourth year or Sirius' death last year. There was nothing to be gained by being depressed. In fact he realised that he was less effective when he was in that state. Harry wondered how Dumbledore's death had made him gain such a wise and mature outlook on life.

Just then Ron and Hermione approached with satisfied grins on their faces. Harry looked up and saw Mrs Weasley looking very tearful. It was soon arranged that Harry, Ron, Hermione, Lupin and Tonks would take a taxi to Surrey. It was agreed during the journey that Harry would try to stay until his birthday since it really was the safest place for him to be. It was also agreed that Hermione would send her patronus if their plans changed at all so that by the time they arrived at Harry's aunt and uncles house the whole party appeared to be in good spirits. Harry knew this could not last when his aunt and uncle found out he was home early and his friends would be staying with him.

It took a while for uncle Vernon to calm down once he had been informed of the new arrangements for the summer and still seemed to be smouldering like a bushfire that hadn't quite been extinguished and could flare up again at any moment. Things only quieted down when Hermione found enough courage to put her foot down and say that all they were asking was to be allowed to stay in Harry's room with the curtains drawn so the neighbours wouldn't notice anything and they wouldn't even have to feed them. This seemed to shoot down the worst of the Dursley's arguments and so the three were installed in what had once been described as the smallest bedroom, 4 Privet Drive, Little Winging, Surrey. It would have been enormously cramped had Hermione, Tonks and Remus not made some interesting adjustments. Before they left Remus and Tonks showed them how to send messages with their patronus. It was simple. While conjuring the patronus you simply had to think of the message you wanted to send as well as the person you wanted to send it to. They had Ron and Hermione practice since they were of age. Satisfied they made to leave.

Before they left however, Harry realised all of the magic that had been occurring. "Hey Tonks I better not get a notice from the Improper Use of Magic Office for all of this. I am the only known wizard in the area. Dumbledore told me they can't identify the individual who did the spell. Therefore I will get all the blame for this."

"Sorry Harry, we didn't think about that one. No worries when I check in with the office as soon as I leave here I will make sure that everything is okay."


	2. Chapter 2: The Last Stay

Chapter 2 – The Last Stay

Chapter 2 – The Last Stay

A/N: Harry's last stay at Privet Drive is very quiet. This all belongs to JKR.

Having seen Tonks and Remus off with promises of keeping in touch and after thanking them for the help in preparing his room Harry could relax. Before leaving Tonks had promised Harry to update the Improper Use of Magic Office at the Ministry that Hermione and Ron were staying with Harry and to sort out the spells used that afternoon in preparing the room for their stay so that he wouldn't be receiving any notices about underage magic again.

Once he was settled into his room again Harry explored the changes that had been made to the room by Hermione, Tonks and Remus. Just like with the Ministry cars, on the outside nothing had changed about the house, but Hermione, Lupin and Tonks had managed to turn Harry's pokey bedroom into a comfortable three bedroom apartment. The changes came complete with kitchen and sitting area for the trio to work and prepare in. It was a good thing he had made an agreement with the Dursley's to stay in his room in exchange for complete privacy or they would have hurled him out of the door without so much as a second thought if they were to discover the changes that had been made to the room.

Harry took a leisurely tour of his new room. The three bedrooms each had a comfortable four poster single bed just like the ones at Hogwarts. One of the rooms seemed to have a longer mirror as well as more feminine decorations and Harry assumed that this was the room Hermione would be using as the décor of the room seemed to fit her personality to a tee. Ron quickly took one of the other rooms which Harry noted had been given orange walls and décor. He immediately began placing quidditch posters up to adorn the walls even though they would only be stating for a month or so. Harry took the other bedroom, which he noted with a mixture of nostalgia and delight had been decorated in Gryffindor red and gold. Harry was impressed with the room's proportions and décor in comparison with what he was used to when he returned to his relative's house for the summer break. The feelings the changes brought about in Harry left his feeling that for once his stay at his relative's house might actually turn out to be pleasant and that it might be feeling more like a home than it ever had during any of the previous summers.

The kitchen was simple and was not overly large. The sitting room on the other hand, could pass as a smaller version of the Gryffindor common room. Noticing the size of the kitchen Harry realised a problem that they had not thought of before. Where were they going to get food to eat? He had a solution to the problem, but the solution brought with it its own set of problems; namely in the form of Hermione and her views on house elves and house elf rights. Harry had been meaning to have a talk with Hermione on this topic for a while but never had the courage to attempt to put forward his point of view. Squaring his shoulders he determined to have a long talk with Hermione that evening before they decided on anything else about using Dobby and possibly Winky and Kreacher.

"Hermione, could you come here for a minute?" Hermione came to the kitchen to see what Harry wanted. "What are we going to do for food?"

"I hadn't thought of food. I suppose we could conjure it but the book I read said it never tastes as good that way and you don't get the same nutritional value as real food."

"Well I have an idea. Please don't freak out; I know how you feel about house elves, but I have been meaning to have this conversation with you since last year and it just never came up. Why don't we go into the sitting room?" Hermione nodded and they both went into the sitting room. Ron was still decorating his room and getting things out of his trunk.

"Hermione last year you thought that if you left clothes in the Gryffindor common room you could set the house elves free." Seeing Hermione nod in agreement Harry continued. "Dobby was the only one who collected any of your clothes. In fact the other house elves were so offended that they refused to clean Gryffindor tower. Dobby had to do it by himself. He did it because he admires me. Now, don't you think that is just as cruel as what you initially started S.P.E.W. for to campaign against?" Hermione nodded so Harry continued. "I understand why you feel this way. I studied history too you know before going to Hogwarts and believe that slavery is totally immoral. I would never fault your principles. What I am faulting is the method you are using. You have to understand house elves and that they have a whole culture based on serving wizards in the ways that they have since I don't know when. The problem is not with the fact that house elves do all sorts of work like servants do. Being a servant has never been wrong. Besides house elves are truly happy doing it. It is what gives them a will to live. Just look at Kreacher and Winky. When you decided to start this did you even examine house elf culture, history or anything else apart from looking at books in the library? If I recall one of the points you made was about house elves and wands. The problem is; that house elf magic does not require a wand. It is different from the magic you and I do."

Hermione seemed to be having an epiphany of some sort as Harry continued. "Hermione I would never lecture to you. These are just things that I have observed in the limited dealings I have had with house elves. As I said the problem is not with house elves or the work that they do. It is how they are treated that is the problem you should be focusing on. Maybe when this is all over get a job in the Department for the Regulation and Control for Magical Creatures and slowly work on it. Slavery wasn't abolished overnight after all. It took time. Maybe if you start trying to make it illegal for masters to punish or order their elves to inflict punishment on themselves. That sort of thing."

"Oh Harry you have given me so much to think about; you're right I never considered those points. I was just trying to push my principles, views and opinions onto a culture of beings that simply wasn't ready to listen, wasn't I? But wait that was a pretty big build up; I don't see; how does this solve our problem about food?"

"I was just coming to that if you will let me. Kreacher and Dobby" Harry called out. A moment later two soft pops were heard announcing the arrival of the elves. "Kreacher every couple of days you will bring us fresh food. You are not to tell anyone you are doing it in any way shape or form. The food must be edible, not poisoned or contaminated in any other way. You will not let anyone see you doing this or inform anyone where I am."

"Dobby, if I recall right, it was Professor Dumbledore who hired you and Winky personally wasn't it?" Dobby nodded allowing Harry to continue with his plan. "Well since his death" at which point Dobby burst into tears while Harry knelt to his level and patted him on the shoulder before continuing "I was thinking would either or both of you like to come and work for me? Now you would have to make it clear to Winky that I wouldn't enslave her but that is just because I don't believe in slavery at all. What I am offering you is access to all of my belongings because I trust you and would make you a part of my family. The only problem is I don't have room here at the moment for you to stay with me. What do you say Dobby would you like to be part of my family?"

"Oh yes Harry Potter Sir; Dobby would be honoured beyond anything to work for the great Harry Potter and to be a part of his family."

"Very well Dobby; I now officially make you a member of the house of Potter. Last year when my godfather died he left me his house in London but I don't think you can go there either because of Wizard magic hiding it and it could only be found if Professor Dumbledore told you where it was."

At this Harry was interrupted by Dobby exclaiming "but Harry Potter sir Dobby is knowing the house you is talking about. The great Professor Dumbledore is asking Dobby and Winky to be helping him to help Harry Potter by cleaning his house so that it is not looking like it is being dark wizards who is living in the house anymore."

"That's great Dobby; in that case if Winky agrees could both of you please stay there and keep that house looking good or continuing the clean up. I don't know what has been done since I really couldn't face going to that house last year knowing that my godfather wasn't there anymore. One other thing please; could you make sure that Kreacher follows the orders that I gave him? I really don't trust him since he served dark wizards for so long and has picked up their views; I don't think that I left any loopholes in the instructions to him but I don't want anyone at all to know what he is doing for me. Can you do that for me Dobby?"

'Oh yes Harry Potter Sir. It would please Dobby very much to help him teach Kreacher to be a proper house elf."

"Thank you Dobby. Kreacher we will need the kitchen stocked in time to make dinner tonight. Oh and Dobby if you need money to buy food I give you and only you permission to use some of the money in my vault if you need to."

Having satisfactorily taken care of the food problem now, Harry went to his room to unpack the things he would need while he stayed at Privet Drive after which he joined Ron and Hermione in the sitting room.

That first day they were too exhausted to do much of anything except to just veg out in their now comfortable sitting room; each of the three teens was lost in their own thoughts. Harry sat repeating the mantra that had been running through his head since the night of Dumbledore's death "_the locket, the cup, the snake, something of Gryffindor's or Ravenclaw's …"_ When he wasn't thinking about this his thoughts turned to Ginny, questioning whether he had done the right thing on the train and concluding that he had and let his thoughts wander as to what she was doing. While he was doing this Ron and Hermione would furtively glance at each other from time to time, and then they quickly look away again when they were caught looking by the other. Things were definitely developing since they had comforted each other at the funeral and Harry and Ginny caught them out on the train. Harry hoped that they would admit their feelings to each other soon. He wouldn't be able to stand the sexual tension between them when they were on their mission.

On the day after they arrived, Hermione disappeared for a couple of hours and returned later loaded down with many books on history of the dark arts and other subjects that might help them to form the plan for their mission which is what they were using the time in Privet Drive to accomplish. They had decided to simply research, plan and make lists while in Surrey; they wouldn't actually make any other steps towards completing their mission until after Harry's birthday at the earliest.

When she got back Harry and Ron had enquired where the books came from and, blushing, Hermione told them she had raided the Black family Library; although now it was Harry's since he had inherited it the previous year after Sirius' death. They flicked through books looking for Death Eaters or former Death Eaters with the initials RAB. This lead Hermione to inquire about a conclusion that Harry had drawn based on the wording of the note left in the fake locket.

"Harry how do you know that it is a death eater or former death eater" Hermione asked irritably after another seemingly fruitless book was put down by the brunette.

"The way that it is addressed is in the tone of a death eater. They are the only ones that I know of who ever addressed him in those terms" Harry rationalised in reply, and so they continued searching.

As they continued an owl appeared bearing a letter from Tonks. The message was simple and very ambiguous in case it had been intercepted and simply read:

_Hey,_

Everything is taken care of here.

T

  
They all understood that Tonks had taken care of any underage magic issues, and so breathed a sigh of relief.

The trio's time at the Dursley's passed quicker than any that Harry could ever remember; of course this was almost entirely due to having his friends with him as well as avoiding the Dursley's completely except for when any of them had to use the bathroom. Hermione did most of the cooking for the three of them, although they all did try and help and take turns with the work. They would also send little notes to different people in the order using either Hedwig or Ron's owl Pig by sending them to the Burrow and getting one of the Weasley's to pass on the note. They would then spend much of their days discussing their mission, which they attacked with a vengeance as, they now looked upon the task as a legacy to their fallen headmaster. They went over what they already knew about the trophies making detailed notes.

The notes they made became flowcharts and list of things to do. The first list had things like:

Research – Hermione, Ginny?, Luna?  
Strategy and tactics – Ron, the Order  
Advanced defence training – Remus, Moody, Tonks?, Kingsly?  
Godric's Hollow – Remus  
Learn about the Potter's – Remus, McGonagall?, Flitwick?  
Base of operations – where?  
How to destroy a Horcrux – Dumbledore's portrait?, Remus?

Another list was devoted entirely to the Horcruxes. It listed them, a rough picture, the significance of the object and any other information they could gather. Also using what he had learned when using the memories last year with Dumbledore possible locations. Some of the locations included his orphanage. Riddle had felt powerful there using his abilities to torment and torture the other children. When they thought about it they added Hogwarts to the list as well. Hermione rationalised that it fit with the connection of using objects of the founders. Also it had clearly been a very important place for Riddle. They also debated including Remus in their mission. He was very well versed in the defence and may be able to help them when they ran up against any brick walls. Harry in the end decided to wait to see if Dumbledore had left any final instructions or anything to guide him.

Yet another list contained information of any Death Eater known to the trio. They were hoping that with the help of the members of the Order they could improve the list as well as the detail on certain Death Eaters. Listed were all the Malfoy's, Bellatrix, her husband and her brother-in-law, Crabbe, Goyle and Nott's father, MacNair, Avery, Dolohov, Snape, Amycus and Alecto: the two who had been on the astronomy tower that night, Greyback and Pettigrew. These were just the ones they could name off the top of their head. Next to some special markings were made to indicate any aggravating or mitigating circumstances. Harry added this so that he would know how he wanted to respond if he came up against them any time soon.

Doing the lists the trio came to some alarming conclusions. They all came to realise that they would never have a better base of operations than Hogwarts. Also they could take advanced training. Hermione also pointed out that they planned on winning the battle and what would they do with their lives after Voldemort had been defeated if they hadn't finished their education. After all they all wanted jobs that required NEWT scores. Another conclusion was that they needed to join the order.

"Harry you know my mum. I know I am of age but she still won't let me join" bemoaned Ron.

"I think I have a strategy that will work. When we make our request we need to point out that we have an important secret mission. It will be more dangerous if we do not have enough information about what else is going on. We need to make clear that we only want to know information. Also we offer the Order the use of Hermione's amazing research talents and your amazing ability at strategy and tactics. We make it clear that we are not asking to be more active than finishing the mission already set to us. I think, on those terms we might be able to broker a deal."

One final conclusion that they came to was how ill prepared they felt for the final battle. Harry had watched Dumbledore take on Riddle at the Ministry and knew that he was not ready for a battle like that yet. They needed to train more. So a final list was made of what they needed to train in.

Improve agility – this would help in duelling and stamina for prolonged duels  
Non-verbal spell casting  
Sensing magic – can any of us do it?  
Hexes  
Healing  
Occlumency and Legilimency  
Wandless magic?  
Muggle duelling methods – in case we lose our wands. Also the Death Eaters don't expect it.  
Weapons?

The trio decided that it would be a good idea to begin getting in shape before they left for the Burrow at the end of the month. This way they could get into a routine for their training. So on the morning of the third day back they each got up and dressed in jogging clothes and headed outside. They decided half an hour would be a good starting point and they could increase once they got used to it. So they set off towards the park and continued making laps of the park for half an hour. They then returned to their mini-apartment and did some cooling down exercises before deciding to do some push-ups and sit-ups. Once more they started small doing 25 of each. They decided they would also do the exercises before bed to get into better shape without making themselves too exhausted doing it all in one go. Over the next few weeks this became a routine and they were soon exercising for two hours in the morning and half an hour of an evening. Hermione was having the most trouble out of all of them since Harry and Ron were fit to some extent after all the quidditch practice they had done. However even that only gave them a slight advantage. By the end of July each of their bodies were developing impressive muscles in all of the right places.

They continued exercising and researching for the remainder of July until it was finally July 29th. Earlier in the week Hermione had sent a patronus message to Tonks and Remus saying that they would like to leave a couple of days before Harry's birthday and asked for arrangements to be made since Harry and Ron technically couldn't apparate yet.

A reply came back that both Tonks and Remus would arrive some time at night, after the Dursley's had gone to sleep so as not to disturb them. Harry agreed that this would be best all around since he had amazingly managed to avoid any sort of confrontation with any of his relatives since his arrival at the beginning of the month. When he realized this he chuckled thinking that maybe he should write to the Guinness Book of World Records. Once Tonks and Remus arrived Hermione would apparate to the back door of the Burrow while Tonks and Remus side-apparated Harry and Ron.

Finally it was their last day at Privet Drive and they packed everything away, Hermione returned the books that they had been borrowing (at least temporarily) and when she returned performed the enchantments necessary to return Harry's room to its normal state so that his aunt and uncle would be none the wiser as to its temporarily enlarged capacity. That night just before they left Harry composed a letter to his aunt and uncle.

_Dear Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon,_

I am leaving and you no longer have to worry about me. I know it has not been easy for you since I arrived on your doorstep. Believe me I would much prefer to have had my parents alive and lived with them. I know how you feel about me and 'my kind' however I feel I have a duty to warn you about some things since you are still my family even though you have never treated me as such.

As you know the one who killed my parents has returned and is trying to kill me. I am trying to kill him and avenge all the losses I have sustained as a result of his prejudice and malice. If I fail then you will know almost immediately. He has a hatred for normal people and plays sport with them before killing them. If he is victorious in the upcoming battle then not only will most of my world be destroyed but also yours. I hope that you can put aside your prejudices as this is what has caused the war in my world in the first place. I am not asking you to make friends with us but I am asking you to at least respect our rights to live our lives causing as little interference in yours as possible. If anything happens despite the precautions we have taken then get to Mrs Figg's house. Before you blow up she is what is termed a squib. This means she was born of magical parents but can do as much magic as any of you three can. She will be able to contact someone and a possible safe house can be arranged if you want.

You have always hated me because of my magical ability. As a rule we do not use it against people to make them suffer. We use it as a way to live. Many of the things you use everyday just don't work for us. This is what we use our magic for. You have only been threatened by magic because of your prejudice. If you do not interfere with it then it will simply leave you alone. You will probably not want anything to do with me in the future. However, if you change your mind my owl will know. She is extremely intelligent and will come to you if you ever need or want to get a message to me.

Harry James Potter  
29 July 1997

The language and tone Harry had used in this letter was a sign of how much he had matured over the past year and indeed over the summer. He also felt a sense of peace at having at least warned the Dursley's, to some extent of the danger of their position and their prejudice. He may not have liked them because of the way that they treated him over the years but he didn't want anything terrible to happen to them because of him either. He knew his aunt would come in once he left to clean the place and thoroughly rid the house of him so he left it in an obvious place on the desk and waited.

It was shortly after midnight when Tonks and Remus apparated into Harry's Room.

"Wotcher Harry, Ron, Hermione," greeted Tonks who was sporting her usual pink spiky hair once more. Remus quickly sent their things ahead of them to the Burrow. Turning to his friends and Remus and Tonks he thought to himself "well who knows what is ahead for us, but at least it will be us together rather than me alone like all of my memories in this house". With these thoughts running through his head, he stepped forward to greet Tonks and Remus as he had been deep in thought when they had arrived. Harry knew that he could do it himself but wanted to avoid static with the ministry since his last run in with the Minister after Dumbledore's funeral

Hermione went first, with only a minimal amount of noise signalling her exit. It was quickly decided that Ron would go with Tonks while Harry went with Remus. Therefore next Ron grabbed onto Tonks arm and they also disappeared with a small pop; Tonks, for once, overcoming her clumsiness and not making any excess noise. Finally Harry and Remus were the only ones left. Harry latched onto Remus' arm in preparation for the sensation he now associated with apparition. With a slight pop the final two left Privet Drive and were never seen there again.

A/N: Coming up: Harry's coming of age.


	3. Chapter 3: A Birthday to Remember

Chapter 3 – A Birthday to Remember

Chapter 3 – A Birthday to Remember

With a faint pop, three tired and hungry looking teenagers and two adults appeared in the normally quiet lane. Leading off towards his home Harry and Hermione had to walk briskly just to keep up with Ron because of his long legs. When they reached the door to the Burrow Ron knocked on the door but instead of swinging open invitingly all that could be heard was the sound of someone dropping something rather heavy and metallic inside before sounds of someone furtively approaching the door demanded "Who is it?"

The trio sighed with relief as Mr Weasley asked the question. In their haste to leave Surrey they'd forgotten to tell the Weasley's that they were arriving tonight; they'd assumed that Remus and Tonks would've told them anyway. "Its Harry, Ron and Hermione with Remus and Tonks" replied Ron trying and failing to stifle a yawn.

"What's your greatest fear?" Mr Weasley asked the security question.

"Spiders ever since Fred turned my teddy bear into one when I was three can we come in now?" grouched Ron.

The door was opened allowing the five to enter the kitchen, and were soon embraced in the hugs of Mrs Weasley. After eating they went to their respective rooms to get a decent sleep for a change while Tonks and Lupin stayed for a while to chat with Mr and Mrs Weasley about Order issues including who'd be leading the Order now that Dumbledore had gone.

Somehow Harry always felt safe at the Burrow and knew he'd be able to sleep better here than he'd been able to while staying at his aunt and uncle's house. With so many people staying at the Burrow for Bill's upcoming wedding Harry was once again kipping in Ron's room.

Waking up the following morning, Harry found Ginny standing over him with a hungry look in her eyes. "You left without kissing me goodbye! You've been a naughty boy Harry Potter and need to be punished," continued Ginny; a malevolent glint could be seen in her eyes.

"But what about Ron, and your other brothers," pleaded Harry; although it was only half-hearted?

"Nothing; and I mean absolutely nothing is going to save you from your punishment Mr Potter, believe you me." With that Ginny sat on the bed next to Harry drawing him into a long, sweet and very passionate kiss. All that Harry could comprehend before his mind became a haze was that this was better than anything they'd tried so far. Ginny broke off leaving Harry wanting more and quickly left the room.

Harry, feeling that a cold shower was in order, got out of bed and gathered some clothes together. After his shower he headed downstairs to enjoy one of Mrs Weasley's big breakfasts. While he'd eaten better than usual at the Dursley's because he had Kreacher bringing him food it just wasn't as good as the food Mrs Weasley made, or as much.

For the rest of the day the trio caught up with Ginny, the wedding plans, what had been happening in the wizarding world and generally just enjoying being teenagers for a change. At dinner Mrs Weasley asked Harry what sort of cake he wanted tomorrow for his birthday.

"Honestly Mrs Weasley it doesn't matter. Although I must say that I am partial to chocolate cake. But please don't go to any trouble on my account. Just having my birthday remembered is enough for me." This comment made Mrs Weasley become teary as she promised Harry that tomorrow would be a day that he wouldn't forget.

That night before going to bed they decided to see if Ginny wanted to join them in their exercise program which they'd neglected that morning. Ginny was excited by the prospect and agreed whole heartedly with the reasons. She remembered all of their injuries when they'd battled at the Department of Mysteries. If only we' been fitter she'd thought to herself at the time. So after exercising the four went to bed; Harry, for the first time in his life that he could remember, looking forward to the fact that tomorrow was his birthday.

The next morning Harry and Ron awoke at 8:30 to the delicious aromas of cooking and quickly dressed heading down to grab some breakfast. Harry had momentarily forgotten that today was his birthday but it suddenly hit him as he entered the kitchen for breakfast and he noticed a large banner brightly flashing HAPPY BIRTHDAY HARRY. It took all Harry could muster to keep his tears to himself at their kindness, caring, love and generosity. As Harry took a seat with Ron, Hermione and Ginny, Mr Weasley stated that both Harry and Ron would be travelling with him to work that day so that they could take their apparition test. "I arranged for it last week so you won't have to worry about waiting around in line."

As breakfast was coming to a close several owls could be seen approaching the Burrow. As they drew closer, Harry could tell that there were about half a dozen owls carrying an assortment of letters and packages. As they soared through the window they all landed on the kitchen table in front of Harry. As each owl was relieved of their burden they took off again through the window. There was also one owl each for Hermione, Ron and Ginny.

The first letter that Harry opened was from the Ministry of Magic and was just like the one Ron had received last year when he came of age informing him that he could now use magic outside of school. The letter also confirmed to Harry that in order to better facilitate them and to avoid congestion at the Department of Magical Transportation a 10:00 appointment had been made for him to take his apparition test as well as his friend Ronald. Putting this letter aside Harry took the next letter noting the Hogwarts seal.

The letter from Hogwarts seemed to Harry to be thicker than usual. Opening the letter Harry found several pieces of parchment. There also appeared to be something else in the envelope. Shaking the first piece of parchment open, Hermione, Ron and Ginny also opened their Hogwarts letters. Harry's first piece of parchment read as follows:

_Dear Mr Potter,_

In light of the recent breach in school security resulting in the death of the head of the School, the Board of Governors seriously considered closing the school for the duration of the war. However after much argument it has been decided that the school will still be the safest place for our underage witches and wizards who wish to, and have permission to attend the school. Enclosed with this letter is a list of new security measures which have been instituted for your safety should you chose to return.

The Board of Governors have unanimously elected to nominate Professor M McGonagall as the new headmistress and Professor Sinistra has been appointed deputy headmistress and head of Slytherin house. The new head of Gryffindor house will be determined at a later time.

We hope to see you for another year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

And there followed a list of the Hogwarts Board of Governors which interestingly enough including Neville's grandmother who had replaced Lucius Malfoy since his resignation in Harry's second year. It appeared as though all four had received this letter as well as the next which set out the new security measures. This piece of parchment read as follows:

_1.All entrances, both open and secret have been sealed with multiple wards, details to remain secret for safety._

2.All students to be subjected to random spot checks for the dark mark.

3.No visits to Hogsmeade village this year.

4.No quidditch.

5.Strengthened anti-apparition and anti-portkey wards.

6.All mail in and out of the school to be screened for dangerous spells or other.

7.Roll call to be taken at the commencement of every lesson.

8.Bed checks to be conducted at 9pm for first to fourth years and 11pm for the rest of the student body and periodically through the night.

9.Additional aurors to patrol the school and Hogsmeade villiage.

10.No student to leave the school without express prior written permission authorised by the student's head of house and the headmistress.

The next piece of parchment that the students came to was also relatively similar and was the usual letter about term commencing on September 1st and the Hogwarts express leaving at 11am. Attached to this piece of parchment was each student's ticket to get on the train. However at the bottom of the page for Harry, Ginny and Hermione there was something added in the precise hand of the now headmistress. Harry's read:

_Mr Potter,_

It is with great pleasure that I present you with your badge as this year's selected Head Boy. In your years at Hogwarts you have shown all the qualities of leadership which are expected of a Head Boy. You also have a level of maturity which is essential for the position which I am afraid all the other contenders lacked.

I trust that you will live up to the duties of Head Boy with the maturity and leadership that you have shown throughout your school career. You are a role model in the school for the other students which was exemplified by the group you led in your fifth year despite the adversity you faced.

Further instructions will be provided to you about your duties prior to the commencement of term. Please do not let me down.

Minerva McGonagall  
Headmistress, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

At the bottom of Hermione's letter was a similar note, although it was appointing her Head Girl. Ginny was shocked that McGonagall had decided to appoint her as a sixth year Gryffindor prefect. All three upended their envelopes and a shiny badge fell into their waiting hand. At this news Harry quickly looked at Ron who did not seem to be too disappointed.

"Don't worry about it mate. As she said you're a born leader. I'm better as a support person."

Mrs Weasley chose that moment to turn around and exclaim at the good news saying they had extra reason to celebrate that night, not just Harry's birthday. She proceeded to ask Ginny what she wanted as her reward for being made a prefect to which the youngest Weasley replied that she didn't need anything, that she had everything she had ever wanted. No matter how much Mrs Weasley pushed the issue, Ginny would not budge and eventually Mrs Weasley gave up.

Several of Harry's friends from Hogwarts had sent birthday greetings to Harry and included sweets or products from the twin's shop as presents. Finally Harry came to the second to last letter. It had a family seal on it which Harry couldn't work out as to which family it belonged to. Opening the letter, Harry was startled. It was a last letter to him from Dumbledore.

_Dear Harry,_

I have instructed the owl delivering this that it is not to be received by you until the morning of your 17th birthday. No doubt by now you are at the Burrow and enjoying one of Molly's hearty breakfasts. By now I have passed on to that next great adventure to join my friend Nicolas and the members of my family with the exception of my brother.

Please do not grieve for me Harry my boy as I am sure that my death was swift and painless. Hopefully I did not die as a result of the spreading of the curse which I suffered as a result of the ring which killed my right hand. At the time it occurred Professor Snape was lucky in successfully slowing the spread of the curse but I know there is no cure for this. It is my own fault that in my lust for something which I thought important for most of my life I forgot and underestimated young Tom.

Harry, if things have played out as I have directed you probably suspect Severus. Please trust my judgement Harry that he was and remains my spy in Tom's most trusted circle. Please trust me Harry that I have made Professor Snape swear to ensure that my death was swift and painless rather than long and tortured. (At this point Harry paused reading and began to wonder, remembering Dumbledore pleading with Snape on top the tower, could he have been pleading for death rather than his life as Harry had thought?)

I know Harry that you will not necessarily believe this straight away, but please, if you should come across Severus, do not act rashly and allow him time to prove his loyalty. Remember Harry, as a muggle author once stated, many who deserve death live and many who die deserve to live, can you give it to them? Do not be too eager to deal out death and judgement.

Now that I have got that out of the way, Harry, I would like you to take a higher role in the Order once you convince them to let you join as I am sure you will do. I have watched you grow in leadership over your years at Hogwarts and your ability to come to the right decision with the help of your friends. If I may also suggest, as I understand your friend Ronald is a master at chess and strategy. His skill will be needed both in your quest and for the greater planning of the war. I know you have probably thought of ways to get the Order to let you join, but I have left instructions that it is imperative that you and your friends join the executive council of the Order.

Through the end of the year, I have noticed you growing attraction to young Miss Weasley. I believe that your parents would be rather proud of your choice in life partner. I know that I gave you permission to share with Ronald and Miss Granger the contents of the prophecy and our extra lessons. I believe that Miss Weasley also deserves to know about your mission. I believe that she will prove to be the key to your ultimate success against Tom.

Shortly you will receive notification about the reading of my will. Please take the gifts which I leave to you. I know you would rather have me than my things, but please accept them as I believe that they will ultimately benefit you. I have also left some books and memories for you which I think will help you in your quest. It is perhaps my greatest disappointment that I will not be there when you are victorious. Please remember I will be watching you and celebrating your success on that day.

Remember Harry I am not really gone. I will always be there for you if you know where to look for me.

Albus Dumbledore

After reading this letter, Harry had tears trailing down his face and silently handed it to his friends to read for themselves. As Harry composed himself, his three friends gathered around the letter reading it at the same time.

"Oh Harry, this is such a beautiful letter."

"Why couldn't he tell me he was dying Hermione? Why?" Harry asked in a soft voice as Ginny got up and came around the table to comfort Harry, just holding him as he rocked in his chair.

"I don't know mate." Ron replied. "Perhaps he didn't know how to tell you. I mean you've already lost a lot of people you were close to and he knew how close you were and he didn't want you mourning him while he was still alive."

"Oh Ron, when did you become so wise."

"Just because I don't always show it doesn't mean I'm not smart." At which point Hermione got up and all out snogged Ron leaving the young man speechless when she finished.

At this point Molly Weasley who had not caught on to the fact that her two youngest children had seemed to make the choice and done something about finding their life partner beamed and gushed over how she always knew that some day Harry and Hermione would be a part of her family.

Once this was over, there was one letter left for Harry to open. Turning it over, Harry saw the Gringotts seal. Wondering what the bank wanted with him, Harry slowly opened the envelope and pulling the piece of parchment out read:

_Dear Mr Potter,_

As you have now come of age in the Wizarding World, Gringotts invites you to attend an appointment at noon this afternoon for the reading of the wills of your late parents and the late Mr Sirius Black. Under law it was not possible for these wills to be read or properly executed until you received your majority. As you have now come of age the time has come for you to claim your inheritances.

Please ensure that you are at Gringotts, London branch no later than 12 noon today. Upon arrival ask to be directed to the most senior manager of the Potter and Black accounts.

Sincerely

_Ragnok_

_Director, Gringotts Bank._

This left Harry wondering, was there more left to him by his parents and Sirius that he hadn't been told about. Turning to Hermione, Harry asked whether she had a book on customs and etiquette in the Wizarding World as he had never thought to look this up before which was surprising as he had been in this world for six years now. Getting an affirmative, Harry asked if he could borrow it that morning so that he could find out just what an inheritance might entail and also why no-one had ever told him anything about this.

After the letters had been finished and breakfast was concluded, Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny agreed that they wouldn't work out this morning since there just wasn't time. They'd have to make up tomorrow. With that Harry, Ron and Mr Weasley flooed to the Ministry of Magic.

Upon arriving, Harry gladly noted that the fountain of magical brethren had not yet been replaced. He had found it offensive to all magical beings at the time and was glad to see it gone. Mr Weasley guided them over to the security desk where Harry and Ron were handed badges bearing their name followed by apparition test, had their wands checked and were cleared to proceed. Going to the lifts they waited with a bunch of other ministry workers who Harry was happy to note were not gaping at him. Mr Weasley directed Harry and Ron to get off at the right floor wishing them luck and continuing on to his floor and office.

Once Harry and Ron reached the doors of the apparition licensing centre they walked through and greeted the receptionist.

"Harry Potter and Ron Weasley we're here to take our apparition tests."

"Ah yes, Mr Potter, Mr Weasley please do come in. I understand this appointment was arranged last week by Mr Weasley Senior." Greeted Wilkie Twycross. "Now the test itself is rather simple as I'm sure Mr Weasley here remembers. First I'll just get you to apparate into some hoops so you can warm up and prepare yourself for the test proper."

With that he led the boys to another room that had two hoops in it with space for the boys to stand. One at a time Harry and Ron practiced apparating into and out of the hoops back to their original starting position. Once Mr Twycross was satisfied that they could do it short distances with the target in sight he held out a piece of rope which he said was a portkey to Hogsmeade where they would to the test proper. Harry and Ron held on and felt the familiar hook behind their naval as they were whisked away to Hogsmeade.

As they arrived in Hogsmeade, Harry started scanning the road looking for any unfriendlies who may happen to be about, he relaxed slightly. Ron went first and was asked to apparate from the Shrieking Shack which is where they had landed to the road leading to Hogwarts. Turning on the spot Ron vanished with a slight pop. Wilkie Twycross followed to ensure that he had arrived in one piece and hadn't splinched anything like the half eyebrow Ron failed by last time. Ron must have been alright because when he returned to Harry with a slight pop he was grinning ear to ear. Wilkie Twycross confirmed that he had passed and to wait to the side while he tested Harry. Twycross asked Harry to apparate to the side alley next to the Hogs Head Inn. Concentrating on his destination Harry made a slight turn and suddenly felt the sensation of apparition. What Harry didn't realise and which really surprised Wilkie Twycross was that when he left he did so silently. Silent apparition for a beginner was relatively unheard of. Shortly after Harry arrived Mr Twycross arrived, confirmed that he was in one piece and asked him to return to the starting point. Once again leaving silently Harry felt the compression and was back at the Shrieking Shack.

Having completed the test, the two boys and Twycross took the portkey back to the Ministry where Harry and Ron were told to wait while their forms were processed. Nothing was said between the two until Mr Twycross returned with two pieces of parchment for each of the boys. One piece they had to sign accepting the rules about apparition which they had been drilled on when they had the lessons at Hogwarts. The second piece of parchment confirmed they had passed the test and were legally allowed to apparate and that they had been entered on the books.

Leaving the Ministry via the approved apparition point, Harry was suddenly halted by the Minister who was accompanied by his senior and junior undersecretary's. Before anyone could detain him physically Harry called out to Ron that he would see him later back at the place and quickly and silently disappeared back to the Burrow. Ron left soon after but not before seeing the look of absolute rage on the face of Umbridge and ones of disgust on his brother and the Minister and laughing to himself at Harry escaping from them again.

Arriving back at the Burrow, Harry and Ron realised they still had half an hour before Harry had to go to Gringotts for his appointment and went to find Ginny and Hermione to go talk to. Harry knew he had to talk to Ginny soon about what had been in Dumbledore's letter and now seemed to be the best time to do it. Setting off around the side of the house, the two boys found the girls sitting under the shade of a tree and talking. Approaching them they had big smiles on their faces immediately telling Hermione and Ginny that they had both passed their test. Settling down, after they had verified their identities to the two girls to their satisfaction, Harry began telling the story of Tom Riddle and Harry's appointed mission.

At the conclusion Ginny was churning with feelings which were battling for dominance, sadness at the burden placed on Harry, fury at having been possessed by an actual piece of soul of that maniacal, megalomaniac, self appointed dark lord, purpose that she would help Harry in any way she knew how and even some pity for the boy who had once been Tom Riddle that he had not ever and could not feel love. Ginny thought this was the most tragic thing of the whole situation. In the end though her fury won out. "I swear Harry I will help you get rid of him. Please let me I need to do this for me, to get the last pieces of guilt away for all that happened in my first year."

Nodding his agreement and stroking Ginny's hair he sealed the deal that she could help. Harry did however qualify his agreement by stating: "Ginny you can help. But I can't actually take you with me when we go hunting for them. Perhaps for one in the school because I think he hid one there but not outside school. I just can't risk the Minister learning what we are doing."

By this time it was 11:30 and Harry had to make his way to Gringotts still not having any clue as to what was going to happen since he not had time to get the book off Hermione. Going inside and telling Mrs Weasley that he was heading off to his meeting at the bank and deciding to go by floo powder, Harry stepped into the fireplace calling out "Leaky Cauldron" and with that he was whisked away.

Arriving at the Leaky Cauldron Harry quickly and quietly made his way out of the pub before anyone could notice him and besiege him as had happened in his first year. Going through to the little courtyard at the back of the pub Harry drew his wand and tapped the bricks as Hagrid had once shown him how to do. Making his way along the Alley towards Gringotts, Harry kept an eye and an ear out for any suspicious characters or activity. Disappointed Harry noticed the number of shops which were boarded up with signs exclaiming owl order only services for the duration of the war. If many more did that Diagon Alley would slowing become very creepy and almost like one of those muggle ghost towns.

Reaching the bank, Harry entered only to be stopped by security goblins. After verifying his identity, the goblins commenced to search for dangerous objects, identity hiding spells and enchantments and other such things before allowing him through the second set of doors. Once into the bank Harry encountered further security in the form of a gentle mind probe to ensure no ill intent or plot towards the goblin nation were being harboured. He now understood and appreciated Bill getting his money for him last year with the amount of time it was taking him, as despite leaving half an hour early, he was now only just on time according to the instructions in the letter.

Approaching the nearest counter and patiently waiting for the goblin to finish writing in his ledger, Harry greeted the goblin cordially wishing his gold to prosper, as Hermione had once told him that this was the best form of greeting with goblins and after verifying his identity, asked to be led to the most senior manager for the Potter and Black accounts as he had been directed to do in the letter he received that morning.

After waiting for another goblin to be summoned, Harry was led through one of the numerous doors that led off the foyer and was led down a long doorway until he reached a door which indicated that he was to be seeing Ragnok, the Director of Gringotts. Surprised, Harry knocked on the door and heard a direction to enter the office.

The office which he entered was possibly one of the most luscious and rich looking offices he had ever come across. There was ornate marble decoration with gilt edging, an expensive looking tea service, and a massive, genuine, antique, oak desk with a rather old looking goblin sitting behind it. Once Harry's guide had left the office Harry was directed to a seat in front of the desk and politely declined the offer of tea which was offered. Getting down to business, Ragnok started, "Greetings Mr Potter, it is a pleasure to meet you at last. I am sorry that we could not let you know about any of this sooner but ancient magic binds and prohibits anyone from mentioning certain things in regards to the inheritance of heirs to Most Ancient and Noble Houses such as yours. I understand that you have already been informed that Mr Sirius Black named you as his heir. Unfortunately the late Professor Dumbledore was also bound by the ancient magic surrounding inheritances from mentioning any details of either Mr Black's or your parents estates. Now that you have come of age we are at liberty to freely discuss these matters. Due to the largesse of the two estates involved, I am the senior manager of the two accounts, although I only overlook and audit those who do the day to day work on the accounts. I believe that there are some 15 goblins who work on each account on a daily basis. After the passing of Lord Black, we also instituted an audit of the Black accounts for dangerous and dark objects and artefacts at the direction of Professor Dumbledore given the nature of the predecessors in title in that family. I must say that there were some interesting finds which unfortunately resulted in the complete destruction of some valuable ancient artefacts. Unfortunately they had been corrupted beyond repair. This is an account of that operation." At which a Red manila folder was handed over. Harry deciding to have a more detailed look later indicated for the goblin to continue.

"I believe it is now time that the wills of you late parents and Lord Black were formally read and executed." Taking out three white folders and opening the first one, the goblin somehow activated the piece of parchment from which a voice came which could only be Harry's father.

_I James Harold Potter, being of reasonable sound mind do hereby declare this to be my last will and testament_

Harry my young son, I am sure that if you are hearing this then I have passed on and you have come of age as your mother and I made wills specific to certain eventualities and this one is for if we died while you were a child. Given the times that we are now in and the fact that this is the will that is being read I am assuming that you have not grown up with us and our safety measures have been fruitless. Hopefully you know the reason we are dead and that meddling old codger of a headmaster has at least clued you in on the prophecy. Know this my son and that no matter what happens and no matter where I am I will always love you and be proud of you.

At hearing this Harry finally had the answer to one of the eternal questions of his childhood. If his parents had loved him so much why had they left him to be abused and made a slave of the Dursleys. Harry now knew what love was. Love meant putting the person you loved above everyone and everything else no matter what the consequences may be, including death to allow them to live. In that moment he truly understood his love for Ginny and the role she would play in his life once he survived the war.

_Now Harry, the House of Potter is a Most Ancient and Noble one. Therefore you are entitled to use and be addressed as Lord Potter. This also gives you a seat on the Wizengamot. Use this wisely my son. Do not let the power corrupt you. My only other advice in this matter is to use your newfound political power to make our society better as I wish I could have done had your mother and I not been in hiding._

Second, I leave you all monies, estates, rights, titles, inheritances and interests belonging to the Potter estate with the exception of the following:

1.To the Order of the Phoenix – 500,000 galleons for the war effort and fighting the dark;

2.To Remus Lupin, my fellow marauder – 5,000,000 galleons. Go on Mooney, you know you deserve it

3.To Sirius Black, my brother in all but blood – protection under the banner of the House of Potter as your family kicked you out of home and 500,000 galleons; I know you have enough of your own Padfoot my brother. I also entrust the guardianship of Harry James Potter to you. Teach him everything he should no Padfoot.

This so ends my last will and testament.

James Harold Potter

_Lord to the Most Noble and Ancient House of Potter_

"Lord Potter, as we were able to read the contents of the will but just not been able to execute the provisions, the guardianship clauses were put into effect, for all practical intents and purposes straight away and can now be given formal legal standing. We can execute the distribution of the estate clauses and give formal legal standing to the guardianship clauses. Moving onto the will of your mother now" and with that Ragnok activated the parchment in the next white folder in the same way he had for his father's will.

_I Lily Marie Potter, nee Evans, being of sound mind, do hereby solemnly declare this to be my last will and testament._

My darling Harry, if you are hearing this version of my will then what I feared has come to pass, your father and I are dead. I do not know how long you lived with us but know my son that no matter how long or short our time together was that I will always love you, my firstborn baby boy. I leave to you everything I own.

Harry, always remember that I am with you no matter where I am. I will be watching over you. Make me proud of the man you will become.

Finally Harry, if you should ever come across a wizard named Severus Snape, please tell him that I forgive him for everything. Severus was a childhood friend that grew up in the same neighbourhood that I did. He was the one who saw my accidental magic and introduced me to our world. We fell out in later years, especially after he started associating with the wrong sorts of people, called me an awful name and I started to fall in love with your father who he didn't get on with. I always regretted loosing our friendship. He later became a follower of Voldemort and took him information which has caused us to go into hiding. I know he is repentant and is now spying. Please if you should come across him give him this message and a chance to prove he is on your side.

All my love Harry.

This ends my Last Will and Testament.

At the conclusion of his mother's will being read, Harry once again needed time to compose himself and regain control over his emotions. Swiping away the tears on his face Harry once again felt that feeling of his parent's love he had felt during the reading of his father's will and knew in his heart that his parents were with him. Nodding to Ragnok the parchment in the final folder was activated for the will of his godfather.

_I Sirius Orion Black, heir to the Lordship of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black, being of as sound a mind as one can have after 12 years in Azkaban do hereby declare this to be my last Will and Testament._

Firstly, I formally claim my title as Lord Black as the oldest and only remaining son of the late Lord Arcturus Black. I formally claim this title now having been unable to do so during my life due to my false imprisonment and then being a wanted person.

Next I formally disinherit and declare Bellatrix Lestrange nee Black and all her issue and Narcissa Malfoy nee Black and all her issue to no longer be members of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black for having brought shame and dishonour to the family name. I hereby revoke all their rights, titles, interests, claims and estates against the Black family for them personally and any and all of their issue.

Third, To Andromeda and Ted Tonks. When you were married you were not given a wedding or a wedding gift appropriate and befitting to an honest member of the Black family. I now hereby rectify this by leaving you the sum of 1,000,000 galleons as well as an estate house with 10 acres of arable land in Devon. Please accept this as a belated wedding present and make it into the family home it was always meant to be and you were meant to have.

Next, to Nymphadora, Ha, ha can't get me back this time, Tonks. I leave you the sum of 500,000 galleons knowing that you make enough as an auror already to live comfortably. Use the money to have fun, get a new hairstyle, find a man, play pranks, whatever. If I know you you're already formulating the ways to use this on a certain werewolf friend of mine.

Fifth, to Remus Lupin, Mooney my old friend, nothing can tell you my appreciation for your belief in me when we met again two years ago. To you I leave the sum of 1,000,000 galleons. Go out and buy yourself some new clothes to impress a certain metamorphmagus who cannot keep their eyes off you. Don't bother to deny yourself Mooney old friend, you need someone in your life even if its only to stop Harry from the trauma I suffered all to often of walking in on you taking it out on yourself. Also look out for Harry, teach him the ways of the marauders. He is far too serious and needs to enjoy his life more. Also to you I leave my flat in Hogsmeade. Take it Mooney so you can be there for Harry more.

Finally, to my godson, Harry James Potter. At the time I write this Harry, I have only known you for a short couple of years. I hope I have known you for many more but these are times of war and the chances are that I have been killed. Hopefully I died in battle or at least underneath a beautiful woman (at which Harry began to turn scarlet, not having fully understood the innuendo in Sirius' bequest to Remus). _To you Harry I leave the rest of the Black estate. All monies, rights, titles, interests, inheritances and claims are now yours. Your shall henceforth be addressed formally as Lord Potter-Black. I also leave to you my enchanted motorbike. I believe Hagrid may have it as I loaned it to him the night your parents died._

So ends my Last Will and Testament.

By this time Harry was emotionally exhausted, so handing the files over Ragnok suggested a lunch break as it was now 12.30 and, calling for another Goblin requested food and drinks to be brought to his office. A short while later several goblins entered the office bringing with them several platters of sandwiches, goblets containing wine, and other lunch foods. Setting them down on a table brought in by four other goblins, Harry thanked them all for the hospitality.

"Thank you Master Superior Goblin Ragnok. I needed a break. I had always wondered about love. I never had any as a child and I feel quite drained now."

"It was no trouble Lord Potter-Black, it was lunchtime in any case and I always have found in the past that food and wine are required after a will reading let alone three."

"Thank you anyway and please call me Harry, I hate titles."

"Very well Harry, in that case you must call me Ragnok. It makes rather a pleasant change to come across a wizard who is respectful of our traditions and customs."

Silence reigned after this as young man and goblin slowly made their way through the food and wine provided. Having finished Ragnok decided to continue with their business after calling for several goblins that were obviously waiting outside to clear away the remnants and the table.

"Now Harry, if you like, to save time, rather than going through what you have just been left in material terms I can give you the client copy of the account books for both the Potter and Black Estates, This lists all the money, jewels and other items in the various family vaults. It also gives a complete listing of the properties owned by and comprising each estate as well as shares in businesses, incomes and expenditure of the estates and basically everything else about the finances of the estate." Nodding in acceptance Ragnok went to the shelf behind his desk and lifted off two large tomes one black with silver writing down the spine and the other red with gold writing on the spine. The black tome obviously was the Black estate account book and the red one was for the Potter estate. Handing them over to Harry, Harry quickly flipped through them and was thankful to Ragnok for allowing him these as it would take the rest of the afternoon just to go through the Black estate assets let alone the Potter estate assets. "Now Harry those account books have already been updated to take into account the division of the estates in accordance with the wills just executed. As we speak goblins are making the necessary transfers of money and title in the buildings."

"Thank you Ragnok, what does that leave to be dealt with."

"First, as they have now been formally disowned, the allowances which were being paid from the Black estate to Mrs Malfoy and her son and to Mrs Lestrange have been halted. Also as there has been no active heir for either account for some years, the goblins in charge of those accounts have been making investment choices in both the property market and in acquiring shares in various muggle and wizarding businesses. You will need to meet with those goblins by the end of the summer in order to discuss the future direction you wish for your investing to take place. For the moment a temporary freeze has been ordered on the making of any fresh investments although I understand the Black and Potter estates are each about to settle on the purchase of some further investment properties, as these were entered into before the moratorium they will proceed to completion. I believe that in the account tomes these transactions are marked as pending in any case. Finally there is the matter of inheritances. This is a serious thing and they tend to differ for each generation and between families."

"What sort of things does receiving an inheritance entail?"

"Well, usually it is merely the formality of receiving the family ring which also acts as your family seat in the wizarding government. I know that the Potter family has a permanent seat on both the Wizengamot and the Hogwarts Board of Governors. If there are any debts owing to or by the family they are usually settled at this stage. Also you will receive special skills and knowledge which are passed along familial lines."

"So only the heir can get these skills can they?"

"No, all members of the family are brought here to receive their final powers when they come of age, but the heir usually has greater access to those powers than other family members. This is from times past when one of the main roles of the heir was to guard and protect the other members of his or, on occasion, her family."

"Isn't this unfair to first generation families though?"

"Oh no Harry. When they receive their letter to Hogwarts they also receive an information pack I understand which informs them that all witches and wizards upon coming of age should come to Gringotts to have their skills tested and unlocked. Also in times past, prominent pureblood families often offered protection to muggleborns by making them vassals of their house which effectively made them extended family by magic and therefore they also received some of the familial magic of that family."

"How do I do that? It's just that I have a muggleborn friend who is like the sister I never had and I want to do something for her so she will never have to feel alone again."

"First you must formally accept your lordships by accepting and placing the family rings on and claim lordship over them. Follow me to the ritual room where I have had an experienced goblin set up the necessary items for this process. In claiming you lordships, your magical inheritances will be identified and unlocked. Depending on the number and extent of magical skills you have and receive as to how much pain you may experience. There will be some as the final blocks of childhood are removed from your magical core."

Following Ragnok through one of the other doors in his office, Harry and the goblin proceeded to a room which was decorated by numerous runes which Harry couldn't decipher since he had never studied ancient runes like Hermione had. Upon entering Harry was greeted by a familiar goblin. "Hello Griphook. I wasn't expecting to see you when Ragnok said an experienced goblin would be overseeing this. I am pleased that it is a familiar goblin who will be seeing me in a moment of weakness." Griphook just grinned a toothy and if Harry was quite honest with himself scary grin.

Harry stepped into the centre of the ring which was drawn on the floor of the room where he was indicated. Carefully Harry was passed the Potter ring. Ragnok indicated for him to place it on his left middle finger. Next Griphook approached bearing the Black family ring and Harry was indicated to put this on his right middle finger. Once the rings were on a golden glow encompassed Harry and he felt the rings attempting to gain dominance over him. Once Harry was successful in overpowering the rings, the world seemed to become dark as Harry was transported inside his own mind where he saw his magical core for the first time in his life. Looking at the pulsing ball of energy, Harry saw multiple chains encircling his core with some being thicker than others. Approaching the pulsing ball of energy Harry started to understand what each chain represented. The thickness seemed to represent the amount of control over the particular skill. Harry now understood why this was going to be painful. After all there was no way he could break these and release the magic without any ill effects. Approaching and taking hold of one of the smaller bands, Harry broke the chain and was suddenly assaulted with a small headache. Regaining his footing, Harry realised this was the Parseltongue ability which Dumbledore said had come from Voldemort although it was a little stronger through the Black inheritance. Harry was therefore not surprised at how thin the chain had been and how easy it had been to break, he was still trying to work out how on earth he was going to break the larger chains without damaging his mind. Slowly Harry worked through the chains. As the chains became thicker, they steadily increased in their difficulty to sever. In the end Harry found out he needed strength of mind to break each of the chains. The larger the chain, the greater the amount of mental strength needed and the greater the headache when he achieved his goal. By the thicker chains at the end Harry was visibly panting at the effort and on more than one occasion had dropped to his knees at the paid pounding through his head. Finally there was only one chain left constricting his magical core. Gathering all of his remaining mental strength, Harry attacked the chain and it slowly melted away allowing his core to pulsate stronger and faster than it had been before. The pain which Harry had endured up to this point dwarfed when his now unrestricted core gave its first pulsating beat and was so intense that it caused Harry to loose consciousness.

Meanwhile in the ritual room Griphook and Ragnok waited patiently for Harry to regain consciousness so that the ritual could be finalised. Slowly Harry opened his eyes and sat up looking dazedly around the ritual room and regaining his bearings. "Whoa that was some awfully strong magic."

"Yes indeed Harry, it has been some time since such a ritual was done for two families at the one time. It has also been some time since an initiate passed out on receiving their inheritance. Now that your magical inheritance is complete and you are now truly more than over lord of the Potter and Black families we can finish the rest of this back in my office with going over the paperwork in regards to any issues arising from unfulfilled contracts."

Once Harry and Ragnok were back in Ragnok's office, Ragnok pulled out yet more folders, this time red and green, with there being two of each; one for each house. "Starting with the Potter side, as your father claimed formal Lordship and took care of the old contracts, there are only the contracts which remain unfulfilled since he claimed and those which have arisen during your lifetime. First, a life debt owing by one Severus Snape. You have the option to absolve this debt as Mr Snape is also owed a debt for prior warning of an impending attach."

"Then I Harry James Potter, Lord of the Most Noble and Ancient House of Potter do hereby declare with magic as my witness that the life debt owed by Severus Tobias Snape against my late father James Harold Potter is fulfilled, so mote it be."

"Well done Harry, I understand all heads of family gain an innate knowledge of ancient custom upon receiving their inheritance and the unbinding of their magic. Next is a life debt of Miss Ginevra Molly Weasley. This is an unusual case in that the debt has, of its own accord manifested into very deep friendship between yourself and Miss Weasley to such an extent that the debt will in time be rendered void. I also note that there is a life debt owing to you by a Mr Peter Pettigrew, however the papers have been marked no action required at this time so you don't have to worry about that until a change is noted in your account ledger. As your previous heads of family have dealt with the old contracts, there are thankfully no marriage contracts which require you to fulfil them. However there are these contracts here for the production of certain goods and services which failed as a result of the timing of the death of your late father. These only require your signature and the penalty fee for failure to deliver will be transferred from your current holdings to the vaults of the various aggrieved parties. Finishing up with the Potter inheritance I caution you about entering into any form of magically binding contract or agreement."

"I know, the knowledge I gained gave me insight into mistakes that have been made in the past and how to avoid them."

"Very well, moving on to the Black contracts. While there are no specific marriage contracts since the Blacks made contracts specific to certain parties and those parties are now dead, the sunset clause has activated. However, the Blacks did have a marriage contract that the head of the family had to marry within one year of receiving the formal Lordship of the family. I therefore suggest you commence making arrangements now Harry. There are also some failure to complete contracts both owing to you and by you so if you just sign them the transactions can be made cancelling the contracts. There do not appear to be any life debts so all that I have left to say Harry is to take all these folders with you and commence your study of them. Once you have a firmer grasp on the extent of your two estates and the responsibilities they entail please arrange to come back and see Master Goblin Griphoook to arrange investment options and any alterations you wish to make. I should also ask if there are any questions you wish to ask."

"Yes there was actually Ragnok. Firstly is there some method available to save me from coming to the Bank and going through security every time I need something from one of the vaults like money or any other items?"

"I normally don't offer this but as you are now our wealthiest client this is a special reusable portkey to the carts. Just whistle and a cart will arrive. State your vault number to the goblin driver and you will take you there. Also we will provide you with a money pouch linked to your accounts. You only have to state the amount and the denomination you wish it to be in and the money will be transferred from your account to the pouch."

"Thank you Ragnok, I am most appreciative of your mos kind and generous offer. Also before the ritual you started to tell me how I can help my friend Hermione by making her a vassal of the House of Potter."

"Oh yes. Well now that you have received your inheritance, just bring the young lady in question to the bank and ask for a vassal ritual to be undertaken. You will then have to partake in the ritual yourself by keeping hold of the young lady while she is touching your family ring as her magic is unlocked. It also involves runes and some gobbledegook being spoken but the participants are unaware of this happening. They are merely used to act as a trigger for the transcendence of the family magic."

"Thank you for your help today Ragnok but I had better go now as my second family will be wondering where I got to. And please take a 10 galleon fee for your time today and give 5 galleons to Griphook as well for his time and the use of the ritual room."

"Thank you Harry, you are most kind and generous; no fee was required."

With that Harry was escorted back to the main foyer of the building where he received the special reusable portkey, his specially keyed money pouch and also a portkey to The Burrow. Taking hold of the portkey, Harry felt the now familiar hook behind his naval and was whisked back.

Upon arriving at the Burrow Harry confirmed his identity and went up to Ron's room to prepare for his birthday supper which Mrs Weasley was preparing as it was now 4 o'clock in the afternoon. Shortly after Harry arrived back at the Weasley's house, the guests for his birthday supper began arriving with Remus and Tonks the first to arrive. Grabbing the folders containing the wills of his father and Sirius, Harry decided to enlighten the pair that evening about their new found inheritances. To say that the pair was gob smacked would be an understatement. Tonks was furious and speechless at the same time and it showed as her hair began to cycle through many colours. Remus on the other hand was just numb at the staggering amount of money that his friends had left him.

Slowly supper time came around and all of Harry's favourite foods were present as all the Weasley's, minus Percy, Angelina and Alicia, Fred and Georges girlfriends, Fleur, Bill's Fiancé, Remus, Tonks, Mad-Eye, Kingsley, Minerva, Neville, Luna and a couple of Harry's other friends from Hogwarts who had been invited and given special invitations which were invitee specific and read the magical signature before activating the portkey to the party sat down to the feast Molly had prepared.

As the party was ending and Harry was about to open his presents before he got to the cake an unwelcome interruption appeared as some gatecrashes to the celebrations made themselves known.

A/N: Ooh a cliffy and my longest chapter yet. Hopefully the next update shouldn't take as long but I have a lot on the moment at work with a lot of family law cases approaching so I won't make any promises. Please read and review. I do appreciate the feedback.


End file.
